Folding stool



1953 J. J. SIMMONS 2,649,894

FOLDING STOOL Filed April 4, 1949 //V VE N TOE JOHN J, SIMMONS A/sATTORNEY Patented Aug. 25, 1953 rommd STOOL 301111 Simm'on's, San Jose,Calif., assignor of one-half to Hermann S. Vath, Menlo Park,

Calif.

Application April 4, 1949, Serial No. 85,410

1 Claim.

My invention relates to stools, and. in particular to a stool of thefolding type.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide a folding stool whichfolds up fiat into spaced pairs of legs and then may be compacted stillfurther to bring the legs together in a flat compact bundle.

The invention possesses other objects which will be explained in thefollowing description of that form of the invention which is illustratedin the drawings. It is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the embodiment shown, but may be included in a plurality offorms as set forth in the claim. 4

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention in the folded position, apart comprising the fabric seat being broken away to shorten the figure.

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing my invention in its folded andcompacted form, a part of the seat being broken away to shorten thefigure.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of my invention unfolded to its extendedand useable form.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the stool of my invention, unfoldedand showing the relationship of links and legs in position of use.

In the stool of my invention, the legs are pivotally connected togetherby links in such a relationship that from a position of use in whicheach pair of legs resembles the letter X, the legs of each pair mayfirst be folded flat, all four legs lying in the same plane and the legsof each pair being close together but the pairs spaced apart; and thenthe spaced pairs may be brought together in close parallelism to form aflat compact bundle or pack.

In greater detail, my invention comprises a stool having four legs 2, 3,4 and 6, preferably formed of wood. Legs 2 and 3 form a pair, also legs4 and 6 form a pair. Thus there is a pair of pairs of legs, theindividual legs of each pair being pivoted together near theirmid-portions by suitable pivot pins I. Thus the legs of each pair may bemoved from a position of parallelism to a crossed position resemblingthe letter X, the spread being determined by the length of the fabricseat 8 which connects the upper ends of the legs. Free pivotal movementbetween the legs of each pair is assured by washers 8 inserted betweenthe legs and carried by the pins I.

To maintain a spaced parallel relationship between the correspondinglegs of each pair, flat links II and I2 are interposed between thecorresponding legs 2, I and 3, 6 respectively. The

link II is pivoted at its lower end below the mid point of the leg 2 bymeans of a stud I3; and extends upwardly to terminate in a curved upperportion I4 formed with the slot I5 slideably en- 1gagi4ng the stud IS inthe upper portion of the In like manner, link I2 is pivoted at its lowerend below the mid-point of the leg 6 by a stud I1; and extends upwardly,terminating in a curved upper portion I8 formed with the slot I9engaging a stud 20 in the leg 3.

The studs referred to constitute an upper group of four studs, two studsof the group being located above the pivotal connection of the pairs oflegs and the remaining studs of the group being located below suchpivotal connection.

The fiat sides of the links II and I2 are separated from each other by adistance equal to the thickness of the legs when the legs are moved intospaced pairs lying in the same plane as shown in Figure 1, therebyallowing ample clearance for the links to turn edgewise to each otherwhen the corresponding legs of each pair are moved to their extendedposition as shown in Figure 3. The links also maintain the spacedparallelism between the corresponding legs of each pair; and by virtueof being slotted at one end and pivoted at the other, the spacedparallel legs are movable into a compact bundle or pack as shown inFigure 2.

Lateral stability and parallelism in folding is maintained in thestructure by linkages 2| and 22, each linkage comprising mutuallypivoted links pivotally connected at the free ends by suitable screws 23to the corresponding legs of the pairs of legs. Each linkage comprisesflat links 24 and 26, connected by a pivot pin 21, placed near the endof link 24 and spaced a short distance from the end of link 26, so thatan extension 28 having a short flange 29 is left on link 26 to engagewith the notch 3! in the link 24, thus forming an upwardly foldingknuckle-joint.

The fabric seat 8 is securely tacked to the top of each leg, no crossrails being used in the structure. From the position of use as shown inFigure 3, the folding operation is first the movement of the crossedlegs to a flat bundle as seen in Figure 1. This in itself is sufficientto produce an easily carried pack, but the space occupied is thendrastically reduced by the further compacting of the spaced pairs oflegs to produce the bundle shown in Figure 2 in which the four legs lieclosely together in a flat pack. Thus folded, the stool occupies aminimum of storage space and carrying bulk.

I claim:

A four legged stool comprising legs pivotally connected in a pair ofpairs, an upper group of four studs, one of said studs in each leg ofeach pair, means comprising a pair of links each one slotted in itsupper portion and slidably engaging one of said group of studs andpivoted on one of said group of studs on the corresponding leg of theother pair, and linkage means comprising a pair of mutually pivotallinks having a knucklejoint therebetween and pivotally connected tocorresponding legs of each pair.

JOHN J. SIMMONS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber Name Date Abel May 26, 1896 WhaIIe Dec. 26, 1933 Olson May 1,1934 Segre Apr. '7, 1942 Russell ..,..7 Jan. 2, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTSCountry Date Great Britain 1861 Great; Britain 1915

